007: Marketing & Trust

The next couple of videos you will see will be about marketing and diving into what marketing is and how best to market your own business. Leading off let’s start with a simple statement that has been true forever:

Marketing is about trust

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At its core, marketing is when a person communicates the value of a product or service for the betterment of an individual. That’s a great definition, however, we now live in a culture that has been marketed to so much they are growing tired of the traditional “sales pitch”.

In the 1950s, there was a popular game show called, “21”. The show rose to become the number one program at the time and the main reason this happened because of the authentic feel of the show. Similar to Jeopardy, two contestants would participate in a quiz of questions until an individual’s score reached 21. The show was a good idea, however the pilot for the show suffered because none of the contestants could answer the difficult questions. After pressure from sponsors the producers decided to rig the show and trick the audience into thinking they were watching real contestants were answering questions. All of this was an elaborate scheme to get higher viewer ratings. This is kinda a big deal, in the 1950s lying to your audience didn’t happen. A disgruntled “contestant” left the show and blew the whistle on what was happening. The show 21 was investigated by the federal government and became a major scandal. This was an important time in history because it was one of the first times the public saw that companies lied to people as a means to get more money.

It’s 60 years since that time and today we are targeted by marketers so much it is absolutely ridiculous. I wake up in the morning to notification from an app on my phone that has advertisements, I then check my email and there are advertisements from people who are trying to sell me something and I’m not even talking about the spam folder yet. I get in my car and drive to my destination only to see billboards all over the place. At a stoplight, I may see someone trying to sell me something. At any time I decide to get on a search engine I am retargeted with banner ads or subject seeing with pay per click ads somewhere.

In this culture of hyper marketing as I like to call it, people can see a sales pitch a mile away and thoughts of the sleazy car salesman enter people’s minds. They begin to wonder “are you really going to sell me something for my benefit or you’re just trying to get a commission at the expense of my trust.”

So how can you break the defenses of individuals and get to the point to where they trust you and that’s all marketing is all about trust when people have enough trust and confidence in you there willing to give you money because they value what you’re bringing to the table so how do you establish that trust? Glad you asked.

Give people attention

You have the opportunity to personally reach out to people and give them the type of attention larger companies simply cannot do effectively. As you are reaching out to people and showing them attention make sure to Listen to them. So much marketing is spent on speaking to at people it is refreshing to see a person who wants to listen to genuinely listen to their customers.

Provide value through teaching

Teach your audience on topics that relate to what it is you are selling. If you are a web designer, teach people what makes a great website, or how to create website copy that resonates to the readers. Whatever it is you choose to teach about make sure the knowledge you teach can be applied to the product or service you plan to offer to the audience later on.

Be honest and tell the truth

In a world full of marketers who lie simply to make a sale, telling the truth is refreshing to see. This also means you will have to be transparent with what is taking place in your business as well as your processes. Once your audience knows you for your honesty when you mention a product or service you are selling will work for them, they will believe you because you have always been honest.

Tell a Story

Good marketing is shown through great storytelling. Craft a story that your audience can relate to and make sure to have certain key elements in your story. Start out with a problem, capture someone’s common thoughts they may have with that problem, show how you can address and solve the problem, then show the results your solution produces.

Be confident

Believe in what it is your are trying to market. Nothing is worse than listening to a telemarketer or salesperson trying to meet a quota. You know they do not enjoy their job, they do not use the product or believe in what they are attempting to sell and you can hear in their voice and see it in their body language. If what you have to offer is valuable be confident in that value.